Shree Sanjay Sai Sewa Organization Nepal

From Puttaparthi to Kathmandu: My Spiritual Journey with SAI

Om Shree Sai Ram

In 1971 my uncle came to know about Sathya Sai Baba and became a devoted follower.  In 1976, I was studying in grade 10. I was not good at studies and spent most of my time playing cricket. My family considered me a spoiled child. I often wandered into the jungle, staying there for 4–5 days, eating whatever I found, and observing the trees, fruits, and rivers. I knew every tree in the forest near my home in Karnataka. My parents worried about me, and when someone reported that “Anil is in the jungle,” my father would come with a stick. People would say, “Anil is being beaten.”

My uncle told my parents, “Only Swami Sathya Sai Baba can change him.” So, with him, we [I, father, mother, and other family members] went to Puttaparthi and stayed for three days. On the first day, Swami did not look at us. Puttaparthi was just a small village then. We bathed in the Chitravathi River, and when my soap fell into the water, I reached for it but instead found a Shirdi Sai idol. I was delighted and took it home.

On the third day, Swami looked at us and called my father and family into the interview room. My father complained, “Swami, Anil is spoiled. Why did you give him to us? He is useless.” I wondered, what wrong I had done! Swami replied, “Don’t worry, he is mine from today. I will take care of him.” Then Swami called me alone inside. He hugged me tightly with such divine love that I have never experienced. He said, “I am with you. Do friendship with me.”

From then on, I would go to Swami freely. No one stopped me. I longed to stay with Him forever. Once, holding His hand, I prayed, “Swami, please don’t leave my hand.” Swami replied, “You may try to leave my hand, but I will never leave yours.”

Swami gave me food, clothes, and money. He allowed me to sit with devotees, children, and even at His gate. He often called me close, letting me rest my head on His lap, kissing my cheeks like a mother, and embracing me. His love is the love of a thousand mothers.

I failed my grade 10 exams. When I told this to Swami, He said, “Really? What will you do now? Keep coming here.” At home, my parents worried that no one would marry me since I had failed.

Swami once gave me a silver pendant with “Om” engraved on it. I asked, “Swami, don’t I need a chain to wear this?” He said, “I will give you a chain tomorrow.” The next day He ignored me, but on the third day, He gave me a chain. After 15 days, the chain turned black. Saddened, I showed it to Swami. He said, “Bangaroo (golden one), first you become gold. Then I will give you a gold chain.”

Losing Connection

Later, during my college days, I grew stubborn, and Swami began to ignore me. I was even not allowed to enter Puttaparthi. Hurt and confused, I left both Puttaparthi and home, drifting into bad company—I earned large sums of money through horse riding and gambling. With that wealth, I supported many friends in their studies, helping them build brighter futures, and I gave financial aid to those in need. But eventually, the tide turned. I was left penniless and utterly alone, spending nights under the open sky, gazing at the stars.

At that time, Swami wrote to my father, warning that otherwise they would find my dead body. Alarmed, my father brought me home and gave me a small shop to manage. “This only is yours. Do whatever you like. You will get no penny except this. I don’t have any relation with you anymore,” he said.

Thanks to my uncle’s support, I went to Tirupati. There, we prayed for the wellbeing of the shop. From Tirupati, I returned to Puttaparthi. At first, Swami ignored me twice. But on the third occasion, He called me, and once again showered His boundless love upon me, just as before. From that moment, I resumed following Him wholeheartedly.

Transformation

Despite Swami’s advice not to marry and to drive for Him, I got married in 1989. After that, Swami began to ignore me again. In 1991, when my wife was pregnant, she was admitted to the hospital for delivery. As I stood before the temple deity, a sudden thought arose in my mind: “You have done so much in your life. If the son or daughter who is about to be born were to repeat the same before you, how would you feel?”

That single thought completely transformed me. At that very moment, a lady approached and told me that a daughter had been born. Filled with realization and gratitude, I went to Puttaparthi.

Search for Guru and How Swami Called Me Back

Once, I asked Swami, “Negative thoughts keep coming to my mind, I cannot control them. Please give me a mantra to remove them.” Swami replied, “I am not your Guru.”

I had read that a Guru is essential in one’s life, and I longed desperately to find one. That very evening, I left Puttaparthi and travelled to Delhi in search of a Guru. From there, I walked into the Himalayas. In Haridwar, I stayed for six days, searching from morning until evening. I then traveled to Kedarnath, where I remained for four days, and later to Badrinath Dham. At Anandmath, run by devotees from Karnataka, I wished to stay for 15–20 days, but the rule allowed only three. Resolute, I told them, “If you do not allow me, I will stay under the tree, but I will not leave.”

I visited Hemkund Ashram, where I was told that great Gurus come to the temple at night. I waited with hope, but no one appeared. In my heart, I prayed desperately to Swami: “Who is my Guru?”

Then, a revered sanyasi named Shree Shree Shree Badri Das Maharaj ji approached me, inquired about my journey, and kindly invited me to follow him. He led me to Murali Gufa, two kilometers away. There, I experienced a beautiful satsang, was lovingly fed, and stayed with him for five days and nights. Later, he graciously accepted my invitation and remained with us for twenty days.

At that time, Swami was not speaking to me, and I was not even allowed to enter Puttaparthi. Guruji advised, “Let us perform hawan for forty days. It has the power—your Swami will speak with you.” He cautioned that no hindrance should arise during those forty days, and that I must sit with unwavering faith. I agreed, longing deeply for Swami’s presence in my life once again.

One day, Swami arrived by helicopter to supervise His school in Alike, near my place. I held Guruji’s feet and pleaded with him to let me go for Swami’s darshan. I promised to return by morning and continue the hawan. At first, Guruji grew angry, but eventually he relented and allowed me to go.

I went with my family and a staff member, Satish, who suffered from a heart problem. While they went closer, I remained at a distance. Swami told Gangadhar Bhatt, “Anil has come outside.” Bhatt replied, “No Swami, only the family has come.” But Swami insisted, “I saw him.” After His speech, Swami came in the car, lowered the glass, called me nearer, and instructed me to come to Bangalore the next day.

Now I faced another challenge – convincing Guruji. Maharaj ji grew angry: “I told you already—what kind of follower are you? Aren’t you my shishya?” I replied humbly, “Guruji, my problem is being solved. I must go. My family members will continue the hawan  until I return.” Finally, he smiled and said, “Go.”

I did not go for two days. Then Narasimha Moorthi called me by telephone, saying that Swami wanted me immediately in Bangalore. By then, my life had already begun to transform—no bad habits remained, the importance of the Guru was firmly established in my heart, and worldly interests had faded away. In His infinite grace, Swami materialized a golden navratna pendant in a gold chain and placed it around my neck. I believe this was around 2002, when Swami was in a wheelchair. I stayed with Him for three days. Though the hawan was planned for forty days, its power bore fruit in just twelve. 

Divine Grace of Sanjay Sai Baba

It was 2014. My uncle was the first in our family to know about Sanjay Sai Baba. He told me that Sanjay Baba ji, like Sathya Sai Baba, was coming to Chikmagalur in Karnataka. I went there to see him. Swami was away, but when he returned, he looked at me from the car—the very same way Puttaparthi Baba used to see me. That gaze was identical.

In that moment, I felt certain: Sanjay Sai Baba is Sathya Sai Baba in another form. From the very first darshan, I surrendered completely at His lotus feet. Swami created vibhuti for me. I went closer, touched His charan, and He blessed me with a shivlingam, rudraksha, and other sacred gifts. For me, it was never about the objects—it was the Divine Love that mattered. The SAI Tattwa is one and the same.

In Chikmagalur, Sanjay Sai Baba granted me the opportunity to drive Him to different places—something I had always wished to do in Puttaparthi.

Today, with SAI’s grace, I strive to live by His teachings—practicing human values, becoming an ideal member of my family, and living as a good human being: loving, helping the needy, serving children, and engaging in seva activities.

Life without divine love is empty. Through His grace, I behold SAI everywhere—He dwells in the water, the air, the leaves, and the trees. He is present in every being. Sathya Sai and Sanjay Sai are one and the same: different forms, yet the same essence.

Now, the Sanjay Sai Avatara walks among us in human form in Kathmandu, Nepal, and we are truly blessed to live under His divine grace. Even a thousand years of penance could not bestow such boundless love.

I remain forever Your servant (Daas), Swami.

Anil Bhatt

Jayapura, Karnataka